Page 32 of Galaxy Between Us

“Okay, okay. Look, just press the emergency bell. Someone will get us out of here.”

“Oh, so now you want me to push buttons?” he lifts an eyebrow.

I glare at him and step forward to pull the red lever myself. A bell rings three times. We wait in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, noise from the speaker crackles.

“Is this the executive elevator in the North wing?” an operator comes through.

Leaning in, I push the button to speak.

“Yes. Yeah, we appear to be stuck near the sixth floor.”

“Copy that. We’re doing everything we can to get you out. Hang tight.”

“And how long is that going to take?”

“We’re working as quickly as possible.”

I sigh irritably. With that, all we can do is wait, and try to stay afloat above the tension drowning us. Swallowing nervously, I face Ari standing with his arms crossed.

“I never had sex with Jaimie. And I never will,” I declare honestly, wanting to squash this while we’re already stuck in a shitty situation. Arius looks skeptical, keeping his distance from me in the cramped box.

“Why were you taking his clothes off?” he asks quietly, voice breaking like it pains him to speak.

“I wasn’t. I was trying to put them back on.”

Ari gives me an unconvinced look and I huff.

“I know that sounds stupid, but it’s the truth, Arius. I think he’s just jealous of you. He knew we’d been messing around and wanted in on it,” I throw my hands up, laying out the truth. If he doesn’t believe me or trust me anymore, then there’s not much else I can do to convince him.

“Jealous? Of me?” Ari baffles like that’s impossible. “He has it all! He’s pretty, he has a job on the executive floor, and he has you!”

“No. He doesn’t have me. You do, Ari, and that’s exactly why he’s jealous.”

He looks puzzled by that but at least contemplates the truth of my words. I take the opportunity to step closer, tilting his chin up to look at me.

“You are pretty. You have access to my executive floor. You had me first and always will have me.”

The sadness and betrayal drain away from his eyes slowly as we hold one another’s gaze. He always had me and saying that out loud makes my heart ache at how true it is. I never got over him. I never forgot about him or moved on. All this time, all these years, I’ve still been waiting for Ari.

Chapter XV

How long could this possibly take?

Without a clock in the cramped space, it feels like we’ve been trapped for hours. I squirm irritably, sitting on the floor with my legs outstretched. Knox is sitting across from me; one knee bent upward as his eyes stay glued to my every move. He watches me. I tilt away in both submission and avoidance of those piercing eyes.

“You’re cold,” he states as I try to stop shivering.

“It’s the draft from the air vent,” I glare up at it on the ceiling adjacent to me.

“Come over here,” Knox offers, removing his suit jacket.

Before I can even decide for myself if I want to do that or not, my body listens obediently. I crawl across the elevator and sit beside Knox. He swiftly wraps his jacket around my shoulders and pulls me into his side with the heavy weight of his arm wrapped around me. A small sigh of relief escapes my lips from the additional body heat radiating off him.

After a minute, Knox heaves out a stressed puff of air, and I wait patiently for whatever has been festering in his mind during our entrapment.

“What about you and Brock?” he asks with a bitter edge to his deep voice.

“What about us?” I raise an eyebrow of confusion, though he can’t see my face.